


Cacophony of Love

by EvilPenguinRika



Series: Soeurshipping [12]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Established Contestshipping, Established FerrisWheelshipping, Established Ikarishipping, F/F, Punk Rock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:49:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilPenguinRika/pseuds/EvilPenguinRika
Summary: Serena was never a fan of punk or rock music, preferring the more mainstream stuff or the Top Hits on the radio. However, here she was, in a sketchy bar, watching a punk rock band perform. The only reason she was there was that her two best friends, Lyra and May, knew the guitarist and came out to support the band. However, things seemed to take a turn when Serena's eyes landed on the pretty bassist with pretty dyed hair and eyes that mirrored the ocean.





	Cacophony of Love

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what to call this fic. Punk Rock Bad AU? Sure, let's go with that lol
> 
> Also I've decided to name each chapter after a song, not necessarily punk/rock songs, just songs I feel like would be fitting lol
> 
> \---
> 
> Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time - Panic! At The Disco

The shifting of bodies in a crowded, seedy, underground bar was not a place Serena had imagined to be during the weekend. The lights were dim, save for the blinding flashes of purple, blue, and pink hues that seemed to get these people excited. Posters, old and new, were latched onto the walls haphazardly. Serena scowled at some of the obscene images on some of them.

 

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Serena asked. Her eyes kept darting around her surrounding as she clutched her purse tightly to her side.

 

“What?” One of them answered. The cacophony of sounds and screams coming from the pseudo-stage flooded the entire bar. It was hard to hear anything anyone was saying.

 

“Are you sure this is the right place!?” Serena tried again, this time, her voice much louder.

 

“Oh! Yeah! This is the place! Dawn says that they should be up next in about twenty minutes!”

 

_ Oh for fuck's sake _ . Serena thought. Another twenty minutes of this ridiculousness.

 

Her two best friends, Lyra and May, had invited her out to see Dawn, their friend, perform a show with her punk rock band here at this location. Serena had only ever met Dawn once or twice, and usually, those were because Lyra and May would drag Serena out of her apartment to socialize with living human beings. Said that she shouldn’t be cooped up in her apartment for so long doing nothing. Whatever.

 

Serena had originally refused to come out tonight because she still hadn’t finished watching Lost Girl and was determined to find out who Tamsin was. That and Serena was never really a fan of punk, rock, or punk rock (she didn't know that was an actual genre until Dawn brought it up once in passing). However, Lyra and May insisted that Serena came out to watch because Dawn was going to buy them a round of drinks after their gig.

 

“Lyra! I think I see an empty table over there!” May pointed. Lyra looked over to the table and was already on the move. She weaved past sweaty bodies, avoided splashing drinks, and quickly claimed the table as hers. Serena was always impressed with how agile Lyra was.

 

“C’mon, Serena! Let's go!” May started to push her way past the swarm of people, disappearing into the crowd, and leaving Serena to fend for herself. The blonde sighed and begrudgingly made her way over to where her friends were. Once there, she plopped down onto a seat with a direct view of the pseudo-stage. The screaming band that had been up seemed to have been packing up their things. Serena blew a sigh of relief. Now her ears were saved.

 

“When are they supposed to be on again?” Serena asked, leaning forwards so her friends could hear.

 

“I think once these guys leave, they should be up soon,” May explained.

 

“Great…” Serena hunched back into her seat and stared at the cymbal from the drum kit.

 

The loud chatters from customers around them had Serena scowl and fold in on herself. She detested rowdy groups of people--especially if they were drunk, they were the worst kinds to deal with in a setting like this. She looked over to Lyra and May, who were chatting away animatedly in anticipation of the show their mutual friend would be performing. The blonde took this moment to give in and let the nightly experience take her away. After all, she could always leave if it was getting too much for her.

 

Twenty minutes passed and Dawn’s band were finally up--though they were mostly checking their instruments before they did the actual performance. She caught a glimpse of Dawn, who shuffled off to where the amps were stacked up with her iridescent guitar and picked at it. It always surprised Serena that such a sweet and bubbly girl like Dawn would be in a punk rock band. If anything, she would have expected the blue-haired girl to be doing pop music. Guess the saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” really did have relevance.

 

Serena’s eyes wandered from Dawn to the rest of her bandmates. She recognized the one who was back by the drums as someone who worked at the Writing Centre at the university’s library. If Serena recalled correctly, her name was Hilda? She was definitely surprised that she recognized her. Serena’s gaze shifted over to the girl who stood before the mic, the lead singer she assumed, who had a hot pink guitar strapped around her. Serena took notice at just how long the singer’s hair was despite the fact that there were two very large buns placed on her head. Would they even be called pigtails at this point? Either way, the rest of her hair fell an inch or two past her hips.

 

Finally, her eyes landed over to the bassist. Her electrifying bright blue and green hair stood out the most out of the three women that did their own sound test. Serena couldn’t help but stare at the bassist. The longer she stared, the more details she noticed about her. Like the industrial piercing on her right ear, her ocean green eyes that seemed to tell a story, and the fact that the roots of her natural coloured hair were showing.  _ A brunette, cool. _

 

“Who’s that?” For a moment, Serena had thought she was the one who had asked the question. But she realized it was Lyra and the blonde sunk into her chair with relief.

 

“Which one?” May asked.

 

“The one with the dyed hair! She looks so cool, doesn’t she, Serena?” Lyra turned over to Serena with a waiting smile. Serena, not trusting her own voice right now, only nodded.

 

May took a look at the dyed-hair bassist and hummed. “I think… I think Dawn mentioned who her bandmates were, but I completely forgot most of their names except for the lead singer.”

 

“Aww, poo.” Lyra pouted.

 

“I’m sure once they finish their gig, we can ask.” Serena piped in. Lyra spun her head around to face Serena and beamed at the blonde.

 

“You’re right! Dawn did say she was going to introduce us to her bandmates later!”

 

“Is everyone having a good night?”

 

Serena, Lyra, and May all turned to the lead singer who was carefully adjusting the mic stand to be a little taller. Everyone in the bar cheered and roared with excitement. It took everything in Serena’s power not to cover her ears and run out right then and there.

 

The lead singer smiled at the energy the people in the bar were emitting. “Good to hear! Well then, looks like we should get this show on the road! We’re  _ Flight of Storms _ !”

 

Suddenly, the crying cheers were overthrown by the loud beats of the drum, the low notes from the bass, and the guitar riffs. Serena held her breath as the sound blared out through the amps.

 

As the band started their song, Serena found that the song was oddly familiar. It wasn’t until when they started singing did it click inside of Serena’s head. She leaned forward and nudged Lyra and May, who both turned their heads halfway but kept their eyes on  _ Flight of Storms _ .

 

“Isn’t this Haunted by Taylor Swift!?” Serena shouted.

 

Lyra nodded. “Yeah! They’re a cover punk rock band!”

 

Serena’s eyes widen.  _ A cover punk rock band? That’s a thing? _

 

“They sometimes write their own songs, but they usually do punk rock covers of whatever popular song is out there! Sometimes they cover it as a request on their Patreon!” May added.

 

“Wow, okay…” Serena muttered. Her attention went back to the band as she sat there listening to the all-too-familiar lyrics of a song she quite liked being turned into some punk rock sound. And although she hated to admit it, their cover was actually decent and, surprisingly fit the song.

 

The entire night was filled with familiar songs turned punk. Serena still wasn’t a fan of punk, rock, or punk rock, but she did, however, recognized that this band had talent. She wondered why they were playing in seedy places like this? Perhaps they haven’t found a record label to sign a contract with? Serena knew the struggles of up-and-coming aspiring artists who want to make it big, her cousin was an actor who was trying to land roles in the acting industry, but it was rejection after rejection. Although both different careers, both still faced similar qualities of struggles.

 

“Thank you, everyone, for coming out tonight! You’ve all been a real blast!” The lead singer shouted. Everyone in the room--including Lyra and May--all cheered and screamed. The band members all exited stage right and headed down a hallway to what Serena presumed to be where the back rooms were.

 

“Dawn just texted saying that she and her bandmates will be out in ten. She told us to meet them outside of the bar so we can hit up another place!” Lyra stated.

 

“Sweet,” May said.

 

Serena merely shrugged. As long as the next place they went to wasn’t as sketchy as this place, or crowded, she was fine with wherever they went. The three of them got up and, once again, avoided the endless sweaty bodies that stood in their way as they made their way out of the seedy bar and outside in the fresh night air.

 

“Oh my god I’m so glad to be out of that bar,” Serena sighed. She brushed herself off as her face scrunched up from the small splotch of beer droplets on her skirt. Lyra chuckled and shook her head while May draped her arms around both Lyra and Serena (though she had to extend her arm out a bit more since Serena was much taller than the two).

 

“They were pretty good though, right?” Lyra said, glancing upwards at the dark night sky.

 

“I’m so glad Dawn invited us out to watch her band!”

 

“They were okay. I’m still not a fan of the genre, but they did a pretty good job covering those songs.” Serena shrugged, adding in her two cents to the conversation.

 

“You sure they were just  _ okay _ ?” Lyra pursed her lips. “You were looking at the bassist quite a lot during the entire show.”

 

Serena’s eyes widened momentarily before she regained her composure. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lyra.”

 

“Oh definitely, that bassist was hot,” May added, joining in on the tease.

 

“Her hair was so cool too!” Lyra continued. “And did you see her industrial earring? So badass!”

 

“You both are  _ unbelievable _ .” Serena hissed, her cheeks were now flushed pink from her friend’s teasing.

 

“You love us anyway,” May cooed.

 

Serena was just about to retaliate when she heard a group of girls chattering behind them.

 

“Oh! Hey, there you two!”

 

“Dawn!” Lyra and May broke away from Serena and embraced their friend in a long hug. Serena watched as the other three band members smiled at the interaction. But Serena’s eyes ended up wandering over to the bassist, who was wearing a beanie over her head. Although her hair looked a bit different, it looked shorter. Her eyes trailed closer and came to the conclusion that the bassist must have put her hair in a ponytail and wore the beanie over top, pressing the ponytail down flat.

 

“Shall we head out?” Hilda spoke up.

 

“I’m ready to go when you are,” Serena said. Hilda looked over at her and a smile graced her lips.

 

“Wait, aren’t you Serena?”

 

“Uh, yeah, I am.” She responded.

 

“You were in my English class last semester! You came by the Writing Centre a lot too, didn’t you?” Hilda asked, making her way over. Serena nodded sheepishly, her hand reached up to scratch the back of her head and a small awkward laugh escaped her lips.

 

“C’mon! I’m ready to drink and party!” The lead singer said as she started dragging Hilda away. Hilda only rolled her eyes and complied to the dragging. Soon after, the rest of the party followed after the two.

 

Serena walked a few paces behind. She watched Lyra and May immersed themselves in a conversation with Dawn. All three of them were smiling and made quite a few hand gestures.

 

“I’m Leaf.”

 

Serena jumped in her shoes and looked over to her right. She was face-to-face with the beautifully attractive bassist, who was looking up at her with a gorgeous smile.

 

“O-oh! Hi! I’m Serena.”

 

Leaf hummed, a smirk replaced that smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Both of them continued to walk side-by-side as they both heard their friends chitter in front of them.

 

“I really like your hair,” Serena said, trying to break the silence between them. Leaf peered up and chuckled.

 

“Thanks!”

  
  


**~oOo~**

  
  


All of them reached another bar, but this time, it was a lot nicer looking than the last. For starters, it was above ground. The front was decorated in fancy gold trim and cute window stickers that matched the logo of the bar.

 

“We’re here! The place we usually go to after every show!” Dawn stated. She opened up the door for everyone else to enter. Murmurs of “thanks” and “thank you” from the group as they entered into the bar.

 

“Hi, how many for a table?” The hostess asked as the group squished around the entrance.

 

“Seven, please,” Hilda answered. The hostess nodded, grabbed a couple menus from the podium and led the seven of them to a large booth right by the windows of the bar. All of them shuffled their way into the booth, Lyra and May sat across from Serena, while Serena was on the same side as Leaf and Hilda.

 

“Your waitress will be with you shortly,” the hostess said before she smiled and took her leave back to the front of the bar. The menus were passed along and everyone took their time to figure out what they wanted. Dawn and Hilda seemed to have already made up their mind as they barely even touched their menu.

 

It took a moment for everyone to decide on what they wanted to get. Serena wasn’t at all that hungry and opted for a salad with the Thousand Island dressing. She felt Leaf’s proximity beside her and at the back of her head, wondering what the bassist was going to get.

 

“I think I’m going to order pasta and a mojito.” Leaf said to no one in particular, but it definitely threw Serena off guard. Now she wondered if Leaf had some sort of mind-reading powers.

 

“Good evening everyone, I’ll be your waitress for tonight! Is there anything I can get you?”

 

Dawn and Hilda placed their orders first. Next was the lead singer, Lyra, and May. The waitress smiled, scribbling down the orders before she turned her attention to her and Leaf.

 

“And you two?” The waitress asked.

 

“I’ll get the pasta and a mojito please,” Leaf said. She closed the menu and handed the waitress her ID card to be checked. The waitress smiled, nodded, and handed the ID back to Leaf. Then, her eyes went right to Serena.

 

“Hi, I’d like to get the salad with the Thousand Island dressing please?”

 

“Sure thing!” Everyone collectively gave the menus back to the waitress to save her time from having to reach all the way down the table to collect them. And with that, she left the group to their own accord.

 

“Should we do a round of introductions?” Dawn asked. “Because I know not everyone here knows everyone.”

 

“That’s a good idea,” Hilda said. “Who wants to go first?”

 

Lyra stuck her arm out in front of her with a brimming smile. “I’ll go! My name’s Lyra! I met Dawn years ago before we found out we were in the same university together! It’s nice to meet you all! Your show tonight was phenomenal!”

 

“I’m May, and I also met Dawn a couple years ago. We kept in contact and when we found out we were attending the same university, we immediately planned to meet up a day before the campus tour to catch up!”

 

Serena smiled to herself and remembered her first time meeting both Lyra and May during the campus tour. After May’s introduction, the next person to state who they were was Hilda.

 

“My name’s Hilda, and I also attend the same university as these guys.”

 

“I’m Rosa, Hilda’s cousin! I don’t go to the same uni as them, but I do go to Castelia School of the Arts! That’s sort of where I met Leaf!”

 

_ Ah. So that’s her name. _ Serena thought. It was nice to be able to put a name to the lead singer. She made a mental note to ask Rosa about how she kept her hair so tamed since it was so ridiculously long.

 

“I’m Leaf, I also go to CaSA, really love playing with the band.” Leaf laughed as she leaned back into the comfy soft vinyl seat. Soon, everyone’s attention landed on Serena, the last one to introduce themselves.

 

Serena sat up straight and adjusted her skirt (even though no one could even see her skirt right now). “My name’s Serena and Lyra and May pretty much dragged me out here tonight because they think that being cooped up in my apartment for too long is going to turn my brain into dust.”

 

This earned Serena a mix of laughter and protest from both Lyra and May. Serena smirked and rested her arms on top of the table, folded together as her finger prodded at her glass of water to the side.

 

A moment later, the waitress came back with everyone’s orders. It was surprisingly fast, but considering there weren’t a lot of people at the bar, it made sense that they got their food pretty quickly. Everyone took the time to indulge in their dinner, with a few small conversations here and there. Serena eavesdropped on whatever conversation the girls would bring up as she quietly ate her salad.

 

“Leaf, your hair is so amazing! Did you dye it yourself?” Lyra asked as she leaned forward. The drawstring of her hoodie just barely touched her pizza.

 

“I did, yeah! It’s hard trying to get the spots where you can’t see or reach, but that’s why you have a friend to help you out.” Leaf explained.

 

“I’ve always thought about dyeing my hair, but I wasn’t sure if I should go to a professional or do it myself,” Lyra said.

 

Leaf shrugged. “Going to a professional is a good bet because they at least know what they’re doing and have experience doing it. But doing it yourself can save you hundreds of dollars. It’s honestly up to you and what you feel most comfortable with.”

 

Lyra nodded. “Good point!”

 

“If you ever want to get your hair dyed, I can ask Drew if he’d be willing to do it!” May interjected. “I told you before that he’s at CaSA for hairstyling right? Their hairstyling department also offers haircuts and styles to the public! You just call in to make an appointment, and one of the senior students do your hair!”

 

“Oh? I’ll think about it!”

 

Leaf looked over at Serena with a half-turned smile. “What about you? Have you ever thought about dyeing your hair?”

 

“I’ve actually dyed my hair a few times before,” said Serena. She nibbled on the bottom of her lip before he continued. “I tried going light blonde, black, and an orange-yellow ombre before.”

 

Leaf cocked a brow. “Impressive colour choices, especially the ombre one. Then, is this hair colour your natural one?” She reached up and twiddled with a lock of Serena’s hair.

 

The blonde giggled nervously. “Yeah, it’s my natural hair.”

 

Leaf only hummed and released Serena’s hair from her fingers. The taller girl darted her tongue out, moistening her lips as she side-eyed Leaf, who in return, gave her a small playful wink. Serena felt her heart skip a beat.

 

The rest of their dinner went on smoothly. Everyone finished their food and paid separately--though Dawn paid for Lyra and May’s drinks--and promptly left the restaurant. The group disbanded, the band members headed off back to the direction of the seedy bar, while Serena, Lyra, and May continued off home.

 

“Alright, I am POOPED,” Lyra exclaimed loudly. Her shoulders sagged but she still managed to skip and jump around.

 

“Me too,” May agreed.

 

“I’m going to go home and finish binge-watching Lost Girl.” Serena stretched her triceps behind her head, her eyes shut as she did so. She then released her arm and shook her shoulders to release whatever tension that still resided.

 

“You and your Lost Girl,” May chuckled, shaking her head.

 

Serena flushed. “It’s a good show!”

 

“You totally watch it because of gay shit, don’t you?” Lyra teased.

 

“I-I mean…! Like! It’s…!” Serena’s thoughts jumbled together in her mind as she tried to come up with a coherent explanation but shut her mouth when she realized she couldn’t come up with anything.

 

“Knew it,” Lyra boasted. Serena gently gave Lyra a shove and crossed her arms with a ‘humph’. The other two girls merely laughed in Serena’s response.

 

“Okay, but, tonight was pretty great, you have to admit at least  _ that  _ much, Serena.” May started poking Serena’s arm.

 

“I-I mean, sure? Yeah? I guess?”

 

“You were checking out Leaf the  _ entire  _ time they were performing.” Lyra looped her arm around Serena’s other arm. The blonde immediately turned red and tried to shove her friends off of her.

 

“N-no! I… What are you… No! Didn’t you ask me this before!?”

 

“Serena! Your face is  _ so  _ red right now! You literally match the colour of your hat!” May giggled.

 

“S-shut up,” Serena pouted.

 

“Oh please, girl. Don’t lie to us. You were  _ so  _ checking her out.” May said.

 

“Okay! Fine…! S-so what if I was?”

 

“Should we ask when they’ll have another gig? Maybe we can go watch them and hang out afterwards like we did tonight,” Lyra suggested.

 

The air catches in Serena’s throat. The thought of potentially seeing the cool dyed-hair-bassist again sent shivers throughout her body. Her eyes glazed over as she fantasized about interacting with Leaf again that she barely saw the exchanged looks Lyra and May gave each other before lunging at Serena with hugs.

 

“W-wa… Hey! Get off!” Serena complained but had laughed alongside her best friends as they continued to make their way home after an eventful night.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I have no self-control, I have a couple other multichap fics (including this one) that will take a while for me to update. So unless I have motivation smack me in the face, I'll be updating the fics pretty slowly.


End file.
